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This guide covers the salary certificate in the UAE: what it must say, how it differs from a salary transfer letter, who asks for which one, and when you actually need attestation. The samples below are ready to copy. Fill in the brackets and send them to HR.
A salary letter isn't a government document. Your employer writes, signs and stamps it, and then each bank, embassy and authority sets its own rules on what it must contain and how old it can be.
For example, Emirates Islamic asks home-finance applicants for an original salary certificate less than 45 days old. If the salary is paid into Emirates Islamic, a salary transfer letter works instead. Ask HR for the wrong document and you lose a round trip.
A salary certificate confirms that you work for the company, in what role, since when, and what you're paid. It's used for family or parent visa sponsorship, embassy applications and some bank products.
Copy this template onto company letterhead and replace every bracket:
[Company letterhead] Date: [DD Month YYYY] Ref: [HR reference number] TO: [Name of bank / embassy / authority, or "To Whom It May Concern"] SALARY CERTIFICATE This is to certify that [Employee full name], holder of [Nationality] passport no. [Passport number], is employed with [Company legal name] as [Job title] since [Date of joining]. [His/Her] current monthly salary package is: Basic salary: AED [amount] Housing allowance: AED [amount] Other allowances: AED [amount] Gross monthly total: AED [amount] This certificate is issued at the employee's request for the purpose of [purpose], without any liability on the part of the company. [Signature] [Authorised signatory full name and designation] [Company stamp]
Three details decide whether it's accepted:
A salary transfer letter (STL) is a promise from your employer to the bank, not a description of your job. Your employer undertakes to pay your salary into that bank until the bank clears you.
The banks' own specimens show what goes in it. Emirates NBD's asks for your job title, joining date, gross monthly salary and accrued gratuity. It also includes an undertaking not to move your salary "until we receive a clearance certificate issued by you." Standard Chartered UAE's adds your passport number, "confirmed employee" status, and an irrevocable undertaking to transfer your salary until the finance is paid in full.
Here is a sample based on those clauses:
[Company letterhead] Date: [DD Month YYYY] TO: [Bank name], [Branch] SALARY TRANSFER LETTER Re: [Employee full name], [Nationality], Passport no. [number] We confirm that the above is a confirmed employee of [Company legal name], working as [Job title] since [Date of joining]. Gross monthly salary: AED [amount] Accrued gratuity / end-of-service benefits: AED [amount] We irrevocably undertake to transfer [his/her] monthly salary to IBAN [IBAN] held with you, and not to transfer it to any other bank until we receive a clearance certificate from you. We will notify you if [his/her] employment ends and pay [his/her] final dues to the above account. This letter does not constitute a guarantee or any financial obligation on the part of the company. [Signature, name and designation of authorised signatory] [Company stamp]
Many banks hand you their own STL form. If yours does, take the bank's form to HR instead of this sample.
Keep it short, and name the requester:
Subject: Request for [salary certificate / salary transfer letter] Dear HR team, please issue a [salary certificate / salary transfer letter] addressed to [bank / embassy / authority] for [purpose]. The requester's template is attached. I need it by [date].
Attaching the requester's form heads off most reissues.
| Who's asking | Usually wants | Check first |
|---|---|---|
| Bank: loan or credit card on salary transfer | Salary transfer letter, often on the bank's form | IBAN and the clearance undertaking |
| Bank: mortgage / home finance | Certificate or STL, depending on where your salary goes | Age limit (Emirates Islamic: under 45 days) |
| GDRFA Dubai: family or parent visa | Employment contract (private sector); salary certificate if you work for a government or semi-government body or (for family visas) a free zone | Income meets the sponsorship threshold |
| Embassy: Schengen or other visa | Employer letter matching that mission's checklist | The mission's checklist for UAE residents |
Our family visa sponsorship guide covers the GDRFA income rules. For embassy applications, the employer letter often goes in with a no-objection letter, which the NOC letter guide explains.
Most rejections come down to four problems:
A payslip usually won't do in place of either letter. It isn't addressed to the requester, isn't a signed confirmation from your employer, and carries no promise to the bank.
Usually not, if you're using it inside the UAE. The bank document lists and GDRFA's service cards we checked don't ask for the salary certificate to be attested. It needs your employer's stamp and an authorised signature.
If you're using it abroad, it goes to UAE MOFA, then to the destination embassy if that country requires it. MOFA's courier route says the original must first be certified by 'the relevant competent authorities, where applicable', and for a private company's letter that can mean a Chamber of Commerce stamp. Check with MOFA or the attestation desk before you submit. MOFA's service requires UAE PASS. A UAE-issued digital document with a QR code or reference number can be attested within 2 hours during official working hours. The courier route takes 1 to 3 business days, and the document must not be laminated. Our MOFA attestation guide walks you through it.
Some guides claim salaries above AED 10,000 need a Chamber of Commerce stamp. That claim comes from older write-ups of the Indian-mission route and is not a UAE-wide MOFA rule. The Embassy of India's current attestation page asks for salary certificates issued in the UAE to be attested by UAE MOFA. It doesn't mention any salary threshold.
A typing centre cannot issue your salary certificate. Only your employer can vouch for your salary. If anyone offers to "make" one for you, walk away.
What a typing centre can do:
Sarmat's document services desk in Deira does exactly this, backed by 12+ years in UAE government services.
If you prepare these letters for your company's staff, the KHDA-certified Certified PRO Program covers the wider government paperwork that comes with that role. You can pick it up on the job and make expensive mistakes along the way. Or you can train in three days and start prepared.
A salary certificate describes your job and pay. A salary transfer letter is your employer's undertaking to pay your salary into one bank until that bank clears you. Banks usually want the STL for loans that depend on salary transfer.
Whoever asks for it sets the limit. For home finance, Emirates Islamic wants it less than 45 days old. Request your letter close to the date you plan to submit it.
Usually not for a UAE bank or GDRFA; their document lists don't ask for attestation. For use abroad it needs UAE MOFA attestation, sometimes after a Chamber of Commerce stamp for a private employer's letter, and then the destination embassy's if that country requires it.
Ask HR in writing, name the requester and purpose, and attach any template the requester gave you. Your employer signs and stamps it. A typing centre cannot issue it.
Send the bank's or embassy's checklist and your draft letter on WhatsApp. We'll tell you what's missing before you go back to HR. If you prefer, use our contact page.
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